Tips for a 4 year old boy who enjoys wearing dresses?

before i begin, i just want to say that my husband and i have no problems with our son wearing dresses, having his nails painted, generally engaging in "feminine" behavior. we are aware that it's normal and unremarkable, and if he doesn't grow out of it, well, we're okay with that too.that said, my 4 year old son loves dresses, and yesterday he picked his own out at the store (blue with a rainbow tulle skirt, btw). he's very proud of it, says he looks beautiful, and wants to show it off. i'm not certain how to handle this part, because i know other people might be uncomfortable with it and i don't want his feelings to get hurt. he wears princess dresses during playtime at school occasionally, and as far as i know, the other kids don't bat an eye, but i'm concerned they might react negatively if he's obviously not just wearing a dress for playtime. likewise, I'm afraid that if he wears it to the park or around our neighborhood, older kids will make fun of him. of course, my family and his teachers can explain that he can wear whatever he wants, but i worry about his confidence being snuffed out by negative comments. he's quite sensitive and easily embarrassed, and i don't want this to end up being some sort of big, character-defining moment.i guess I'm wondering where we draw the line? do we let him wear the dress to school and just deal with whatever happens? do we explain that the dress is too nice to wear to the park but it's fine for school/home? i guess i'm stuck between encouraging him to be his own person and wanting to protect him from the shittiness of other people. in my mind i imagined that i would be this awesome, stalwart force standing up for my kid against stupid and pointless gender norms, but now i'm second guessing myself. anyone else have a little boy who went through a similar phase, and if so, how did you handle it? via /r/Parenting http://bit.ly/2GH0tCI